The Student Room Group
Reply 1
I got 1 in both II and III.
I got 1 in STEP II and III :biggrin:.
Reply 3
iluvcheesecake
I got 1 in STEP II and III :biggrin:.

f me that's impressive....you both off to Cambridge?
1 In Both Step 2 And 3

But, I M Going To Imperial
Reply 5
I got a 1 in II and III as well....off to KCL! :biggrin:
lgs98jonee
f me that's impressive....you both off to Cambridge?

Thanks :smile:. Actually going to Oxford infact!
Reply 7
I got a grade 2 in I which was good enough for me to get into warwick :smile:
Reply 8
just to show off :P

I got S's in all three papers~
yeh..
know u will..foxystar.....
i feel gutted to get 1 really....easy paper compared to past papers...need 5 more min to finish off the last question in both papers....sigh...
i always mess up at crucial moments.....
cant complain.
Reply 10
FoxyStar
just to show off :P

I got S's in all three papers~


Liar u cud only do two papers:
http://www.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/tests/step.html
Read after the bullet points on above site. :p:
Some people will take STEP I in lower 6th, then take STEP II and III in upper 6th. They generally do STEP I "just for kicks" or as a warm up for STEP II and III which they will be asked for by Cambridge. I know at least one person who got an S in STEP I this year in his lower 6th and I am in absolutely no doubt will get S,S in STEP II and III next year.
Reply 12
Akhoza
Liar u cud only do two papers:
http://www.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/tests/step.html
Read after the bullet points on above site. :p:

this is a well known rule and yet there are a few people who did all three, in the same year.
Do you have to study for step papers or do you just take them at the end of year 13??? Im confused
Reply 14
Yeah they're taken at the end of year 13, usually the latest exams you'll take...end of June start of July...but they definitely require work towards them in order to do well. However, even if you are very very good at A-level work you will still need to practice STEP questions and papers because it's a different league really.
Reply 15
How on earth do u guys do the STEP papers they r not at all like A level q's im confused over which to chose STEP or AEA an im prob gonna to AEA coz it seems easier.
When I found out I had to do STEP for Cambridge, I got ahold of a load of past STEP papers, of all 3 difficulties, and spent most of my upper 6th doing them, especially once I'd got an offer. From then on I spent my physics and statistical maths lessons doing the pure and mechanics STEP questions (or attempting) until I was used to that style of question. Once you do get used to them, the A Level exams seem "bland" due to their lack of variety :frown:

The style is certainly different from A Level, which is pretty much the point, but something you do get used to over time. Initially I could do very few questions, but I gradually got into the way of thinking about them, and out of the "robotic" repetition that past A Level papers can put you into.

Except for some of the questions in STEP III (when the different syllabuses around the country begin to vary from one another) all the material should be in the Double Maths A Level courses (STEP I and II are aimed at people who've done just a single maths A Level) so its not a case of reading a lot of advanced stuff, but just being able to read a non-standard question and thinking "Ah, this is going to need me to use my knowledge of geometric progressions, integrations and trig identities". With A Level its painfully clear what the question requires you to do, there'll be one on trig identities, another on integration, another on arithmetic progressions, another on maximising something. Its all very clear cut. With STEP you'll often be asked to use 3 or 4 different "bits" of your maths knowledge together to solve a problem and its that which can throw off someone who is used to the clear cut method of A Level exams.

If I remember correctly, Warwick asks for either the AEA or STEP. Since STEP is harder, they ask for lower A Level marks if you decide to do the STEP paper instead of the AEA (a friend is in that position). Having seen a sample AEA paper, I agree that its WAY easier. It is also set out in a clear cut way where its quite obvious which part of your knowledge you need to apply and lacks any twists in the questions. Its a supped up A Level paper from what I can tell.

If you are very competent at maths, then I'd say go for the challenge of STEP. It will be harder work now, but I think its hugely rewarding in showing you that there is a way of doing maths outside the repetative method of A Level, and will set you up nicely for university maths, which is also a lot more flexible. If after having looked at the STEP papers for a while and still none the wiser, you can always then drop back to doing the AEA.

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